Berakhot 55b (נה:) — the Talmud in English

And

for at

that moment

when he dreamed it,

his mother

already

was not

alive in the world, and it follows that this part of his dream was not fulfilled.

Rabbi Levi said: A person should always await a good dream

that it will be fulfilled,

for twenty-two years,

from where do we derive this? —

From Joseph.

As it is written

about him [Genesis 37:2]:

“These are the generations of Jacob: Joseph, when he was seventeen years old

was shepherding the flock with his brothers, and so on.” At that time he dreamed that his father and brothers would come to bow down to him.

And it is written: “And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, and so on,”

at which point he was appointed ruler over Egypt. And one calculates

from seventeen

years of age

until thirty

years of age:

how much is that? -

Thirteen [13

years]. Since the dream’s interpretation was fulfilled only when Jacob descended to Egypt in the second year of the famine, one adds to the thirteen years mentioned another

seven

years

of plenty, and

another

two

years

of famine. Thus,

it follows that

twenty-two

years passed from the day Joseph dreamed his dream until his dream was fulfilled.

Rav Huna said: To a good person, they do not show a good dream,

but rather a bad dream, so that, out of his anxiety, he will not come to sin; and if he does sin, the suffering will atone for him.

And to a wicked person, they do not show a bad dream,

but rather a good dream, in order to gladden him, and thereby he consumes his reward in this world.

It was also taught accordingly: Throughout all of David’s years, he did not see a good dream

. And throughout all of Ahithophel’s years, he did not see a bad dream.

The Gemara raises an objection:

Is that so? And is it not written

concerning David [Psalms 91:10]:

“No evil shall befall you,” and Rav Hisda said that Rabbi Jeremiah bar Abba said:

In this verse, the Holy One, blessed be He, promised David

that neither bad dreams nor bad thoughts would frighten you,

and so too in its continuation:

“Nor shall any plague come near your tent.” -

He promised him

that you would not find your wife in a state of uncertainty concerning whether she is a menstruating woman when you return from the road!

If so, it is explicit that David did not see bad dreams, contrary to Rav Huna.

The Gemara answers:

Rather, he

— David himself, and likewise every good person —

does not see it

a bad dream for himself. Rav Huna’s intention was that

others see it

[concerning him], a bad dream.

The Gemara raises an objection: If so, it follows that David did not see any dream at all, since we learned that throughout his life he did not see a good dream, and according to Rav Hisda he also did not see a bad dream.

And did he himself not see

David, any dream?

Is that an advantage? But Rabbi Zeira said: Anyone who sleeps seven days without a dream is called “bad,” as it is stated: “And he will spend seven nights without being visited by evil.” Do not read “seven”

[as referring to satiation]

but “sated”!

That is, if he sleeps seven days and no dream visits him during that period, he is “bad.”

The Gemara answers:

Rather, this is what

Rav Huna

said: A good person can indeed

see a dream,

but

he

does not know what he saw!

For before he awakens from his sleep, the dream is forgotten, so that he will not rejoice over it.

Rav Huna bar Ami said that Rabbi Padda said that Rabbi Yohanan said: One who sees a dream and

because of it

his spirit is troubled

by it,

should go

and have it interpreted before three people!

The Gemara asks:

Have it interpreted? —

But Rav Hisda said

above:

“A dream that has not been interpreted is like a letter that has not been read,”

and since his spirit is troubled, presumably it was a bad dream. If so, it would be preferable for him not to have it interpreted, so that nothing from it will be fulfilled.

The Gemara answers:

Rather, say: He should have it improved before three people!

And this is what he should do:

Let three

of his friends come,

and let him say to them: “I have seen a good dream,” and let those

three men

say to him:

“It is good,

and may it be good; may the Merciful One make it

good, seven times,

and may they decree upon you from Heaven that it should be good, and it shall be good!”

And

afterward

let them say

to him:

three transformations

[verses in which the language of “transformation” appears],

and three

verses of

redemptions

[containing the language of redemption],

and three

verses of

peace

[containing the language of peace].

The Gemara explains which verses are appropriate for improving a dream:

“Three transformations”:

a. [Psalms 30:12]

“You transformed my mourning into dancing for me; You loosened my sackcloth and girded me with joy.”

b. [Jeremiah 31:12]

“Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the elders together; and I shall transform their mourning into joy,

and comfort them, and gladden them from their sorrow.” c. [Deuteronomy 23:6]

“And the Lord your God would not heed Balaam, but transformed

the Lord your God’s curse for you into a blessing, because the Lord your God loved you.”

“Three redemptions”:

a.

As it is written:

[Psalms 55:19]

“He redeemed my soul in peace from the battle against me,

for there were many with me.” b. [Isaiah 35:10]

“And the redeemed of the Lord shall return

and come to Zion with song, with everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall attain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” c. [I Samuel 14:45]

“And the people said to Saul: Shall Jonathan die, who has wrought this great deliverance

in Israel? Far be it; as the Lord lives, not a hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has acted with God this day.” And the people redeemed Jonathan, and he did not die.”

“Three verses of peace” —

a.

As it is written

[Isaiah 57:19]:

“Creating the expression of the lips: Peace, peace, to the far and to the near, says the Lord, and I shall heal him.”

b. [I Chronicles 12:19]

“And a spirit clothed Amasai,

chief of the captains: Go forth, David, and with you, son of Jesse; peace, peace to you, and peace to your helpers, for your God helps you.” And David received them and appointed them as heads of the troop.” c. [I Samuel 25:6]

“And say thus: May you live, and may you have peace, and may your house have peace,

and may all that you have have peace.”

Ameimar and Mar Zutra were sitting together. They said

to each other:

Let each one of us say a matter

[a novel teaching]

that his fellow has not heard!

One of them began and said: One who sees

a dream,

and the dream is forgotten,

and he does not know what he saw,

should stand before the priests when they spread out their hands

[when they raise their hands to bless the people,

and say as follows

“Master of the Universe, I am Yours and my dreams are Yours. I dreamed a dream, and I do not know what it is. Whether I dreamed concerning myself, or whether they dreamed

concerning me

[about me],

or whether I dreamed concerning others

. If

[the dreams are]

good, strengthen them and reinforce them like the dreams of Joseph. And if they require healing,

heal them as You healed the waters of Marah

that were sweetened

through Moses our teacher, and as You healed Miriam from her leprosy, and Hezekiah from his illness, and the waters of Jericho through Elisha

[which were bad, and he put salt into them and they were healed]

And just as You transformed the curse of wicked Balaam into a blessing, so transform my dreams concerning me for the good!” And he concludes

this

together with

the

priests

when they complete their blessing, so that

the congregation will answer Amen

after his prayer, as they respond to the Priestly Blessing.

And if not

sufficient to recite this entire formula,

let him say as follows: “Mighty One on High, Who dwells in strength, You are peace and Your name is peace; may it be Your will before You to place peace upon us!”

Another one began and said: One who enters a city and fears the evil eye

[one who enters a city and is concerned about the evil eye ], because there are many people in the city,

should hold the thumb

[of one hand]

of his right hand in the palm of his left hand, and the thumb of his left hand in the palm of his right hand, and say as follows: “I, so-and-so son of so-and-so,

come from the descendants of Joseph,

upon whom the evil eye has no power,” as it is stated

[Genesis 49:22]:

“Joseph is a fruitful son, a fruitful son by the eye, and so on.” Do not read “by the eye,”

but

“those who rise over the eye,”

meaning that Joseph and his descendants rule over the eye, and the evil eye does not prevail over them.

And it is written on the other hand "and the dreams of the false shall speak!" which implies they are false? The Gemara resolves: No difficulty. Here "in 'in a dream I will speak to him'" it is said of a dream that comes by means of an angel, which is a true dream; whereas here — "the false shall speak" — is said of a dream that comes by means of a demon, which is false. In the Zohar it is brought that it was Gabriel, and in the portion Miketz he wrote that his power is to show a vision from within a vision, and see in Yaarot Devash that Gabriel knows what is in a man's heart, and the LORD gave him that faculty, for he is charged with dreams and does not show a man anything but what is in the meditation of the heart. And it is written in Meshech Chokhma therefore a demon cannot show a correct dream, for it is said in Gitin that it has no counterpart of counterpart, [and see the Maharsha ]. And see below that a dream is one of sixty degrees of prophecy, and in Ra'aya Meheimna [Pinchas ] it is written that that is a dream seen by an angel, but a dream by a demon is not a matter of prophecy, and see the gloss there, that the word "vanities" in gematria equals "mal'ach" [angel], namely that every dream comes by an angel, but an evil angel is called a demon, and his words are void. And Tashbatz took the position that there is no intention of an actual angel or demon, but that a vision arising from right reason is called "angel," whereas a vision arising from the power of imagination formed ill is considered "demon." And in the Sefer Chasidim he explained "that because of demon and spirit a person does not sleep soundly, but his eyes are as if closed while he thinks thoughts, for the demon does not enter upon thought but whispers in his ear from the depth of the ear's hole, and the person desires to awaken, and the demon breathes before his nostrils and mouth, and the intellect cannot wholly return to the person, and he is in his mind as a waking man." And in Aruch HaShulchan he wrote that a pure man whose thoughts are in Torah is sustained by "for His angels He will command concerning you to guard you," and he dreams what the angels show him; but those immersed in vanities of the world, who are the complete demons — the thieves of a man's true success — there is no reality in their dreams. And see in the Zohar [there, Komet a] that each person has several levels in his dreams. The the Maharsha wrote that we have exhausted in the topic three kinds of dreams. A. A dream by an angel, which is a "morning dream" and is true because then his intellect is clear. B. A dream by a demon, and it is in the second watch of the night when demons and spirits rule. C. A dream from the day's reflections, and it is at the beginning of the night while he is still occupied with the daytime's concerns. Rav Bizna bar Zavda said, quoting Rabbi Akiva, quoting Rabbi Penda, quoting Rabbi Nachum, quoting Rabbi Birim on account of an old man, and they asked him? - Rabbi Bana'ah he is: twenty-four interpreters of dreams were in Jerusalem. Once I dreamed a dream, and I went to all of them, and what this one interpreted for me this one did not; and interpretations all were fulfilled for me. And this matter serves to uphold what is said, "all dreams go according to the mouth!" — as the mouth interprets the dream, so it is fulfilled. They wrote Tosafot that the power to interpret a dream does not depend on wisdom but on the luck of the hour of birth, and the Gaon of Vilna (Gra) wrote that wisdom is the factor and not luck. And see at length in the responsa Shu"t "Min HaShamayim" §§22ff. And the Gra of... said that one born under the fortune of a dream-interpreter must hear every detail of the dream to interpret it, and he is not called "wise" but an interpreter by means of prophecy, as we find in Joseph who at first said to Pharaoh "Tell the dream to me to interpret it," and Joseph answered that he interprets by prophecy, and therefore Pharaoh tested him and changed to him details of the dream, and since he interpreted correctly he said of him "there is no discerning and wise like you," because a prophet is but a wise man [Nedarim 40b]. In Ohr HaChaim he wrote that only when the interpretations do not contradict do they all come to pass, but if they contradict, the second interpreter does not invalidate the first interpreter's solution. And similarly the Ritva held that only a dream with multiple Ritva held that only a dream with multiple Ritva held that only a dream with multiple Ritva held that only a dream with multiple Ritva held that only a dream with multiple Ritva held that only a dream with multiple

The

1.

2.

3.

The